Chrysler’s SRT group has been on a bit of roll as late. Their lineup, which includes the Chrysler 300 SRT8, Dodge Challenger SRT8, Dodge Charger SRT8, and Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8 has been praised widely. But, all of those models mentioned come from other divisions in Chrysler. That appears to be changing with the new SRT Viper due out later this year, and SRT is hungry for more models of their own.

Motor Trend reports that SRT could be getting two more models in the coming years. The first model is one that we have been hearing about for awhile; the Barracuda. The replacement to the current Dodge Challenger, the Barracuda will use a smaller version of the full-size LY platform (Chrysler 300/Dodge Charger) codenamed LA. The Barracuda is due out sometime in 2015.

The second model could be one of two possibilities. Possibility one is a successor to the Dodge Ram SRT10. Whether it follows the same ideals as the past Ram SRT10 or goes down the Ford F-150 Raptor route, we’re not sure of. Possibility two is a small, two-seat sports car that could compete with the Mazda Miata.

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My vote is for the Raptor Competitor. Seems to make more sense to steal some of Ford's market share, and we've seen creations recently that show it can be done. GM could jump in with their own variant then too.

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The fate of the Nissan Z has been up the air for a number of years. One minute, it seems the Z will be killed off. The next, Nissan is figuring out how to keep the Z alive. This brings us neatly to a report from Autocar which says a new Z car is expected in 2020. But after reading this report, we have some questions as to the validity of this information.
According to "senior officials from Nissan," the new Z car has the codename of Z35 and will share a number of components with the Infiniti Q60 Coupe including the rear-drive platform and engines. Using the Q60's platform would make the Z a bit larger - the Q60's length is 17 inches longer and the wheelbase is about a foot longer.
Power will come from a twin-turbo 3.0L V6 engine from the Q50 and Q60 producing 400 horsepower. There will also be a high-performance NISMO model that will use a re-tuned version of the twin-turbo V6 to produce 475 horsepower and be paired with an all-wheel drive system.
But this report has a huge red flag.
Emphasis ours. The issue is that there will not be a 2018 Tokyo Moto Show. It is a bi-annual auto show. The last one took place in 2017, meaning the next one will not happen till 2019. This also puts a red flag on the reveal of the production model at the 2019 LA Auto Show.
This report comes a week after another rumor about the Z car was debunked. Japanese site Response reported that Nissan has asked their partner Mercedes-Benz on developing a new Z car. Using a Mercedes-Benz platform, the new Z would be offered with two engines. A 2.0L turbo-four from Mercedes as the base and the twin-turbo V6 from Infiniti. But as Japanese Nostalgic Car notes in their report, "the automotive rumor mill in Japan is like 1990s Motor Trend on crack." The partnership between Nissan and Diamler hit a rough patch earlier this year as Reuters reported that Infiniti would not use Mercedes' MFA2 modular platform due to cost issues. The new QX50 which was supposed to be the Infiniti vehicle to use this new platform would instead use its own unique platform.
Motor Trend would deliver the final nail in the coffin of this rumor. According to their sources, Mercedes and Nissan did talk about the possibility of working together on a new platform that would be shared between the Z and SLC roadster. But these talks reportedly went nowhere. Also, Mercedes is planning to kill off the SLC once production of the current model ends.
We know that Nissan does want to keep the Z alive from comments made by Philippe Klein, Nissan's chief planning officer back in January.
As of right now, your guess is as good as ours.
Source: Autocar

The fate of the Nissan Z has been up the air for a number of years. One minute, it seems the Z will be killed off. The next, Nissan is figuring out how to keep the Z alive. This brings us neatly to a report from Autocar which says a new Z car is expected in 2020. But after reading this report, we have some questions as to the validity of this information.
According to "senior officials from Nissan," the new Z car has the codename of Z35 and will share a number of components with the Infiniti Q60 Coupe including the rear-drive platform and engines. Using the Q60's platform would make the Z a bit larger - the Q60's length is 17 inches longer and the wheelbase is about a foot longer.
Power will come from a twin-turbo 3.0L V6 engine from the Q50 and Q60 producing 400 horsepower. There will also be a high-performance NISMO model that will use a re-tuned version of the twin-turbo V6 to produce 475 horsepower and be paired with an all-wheel drive system.
But this report has a huge red flag.
Emphasis ours. The issue is that there will not be a 2018 Tokyo Moto Show. It is a bi-annual auto show. The last one took place in 2017, meaning the next one will not happen till 2019. This also puts a red flag on the reveal of the production model at the 2019 LA Auto Show.
This report comes a week after another rumor about the Z car was debunked. Japanese site Response reported that Nissan has asked their partner Mercedes-Benz on developing a new Z car. Using a Mercedes-Benz platform, the new Z would be offered with two engines. A 2.0L turbo-four from Mercedes as the base and the twin-turbo V6 from Infiniti. But as Japanese Nostalgic Car notes in their report, "the automotive rumor mill in Japan is like 1990s Motor Trend on crack." The partnership between Nissan and Diamler hit a rough patch earlier this year as Reuters reported that Infiniti would not use Mercedes' MFA2 modular platform due to cost issues. The new QX50 which was supposed to be the Infiniti vehicle to use this new platform would instead use its own unique platform.
Motor Trend would deliver the final nail in the coffin of this rumor. According to their sources, Mercedes and Nissan did talk about the possibility of working together on a new platform that would be shared between the Z and SLC roadster. But these talks reportedly went nowhere. Also, Mercedes is planning to kill off the SLC once production of the current model ends.
We know that Nissan does want to keep the Z alive from comments made by Philippe Klein, Nissan's chief planning officer back in January.
As of right now, your guess is as good as ours.
Source: Autocar

The grim reaper appears to circling around the Lincoln Continental if a new report is to believed.
Ford Authority has learned from sources familar with Lincoln's future product plans that the Continental will be end after this current-generation. No reason was given as to why the Continental could be shown the door. If we were to hazard a guess, it might be due to low sales number. Throughout its 18 months of being on sale, Lincoln has only moved 18,846 Continentals.
2016 (Sept to Dec): 5,261
2017: 12,012
2018 (so far): 1,573
The Continental is doing much better than the Lexus GS (1,009 models) and Acura RLX (285 models) so far this year. But it pales in comparison to the Cadillac XTS (3,163 vehicles, most going to fleets). The 2018 sales figures become more disheartening when you take into account that Lincoln spent close to a billion dollars to launch the Continental.
The Truth About Cars also notes that other models that use Continental's platform, CD4 don't have a bright future. As we reported previously in the rumorpile, the Ford Fusion will not be built in North America after 2020. Plans for a redesigned Fusion have also been canned. We wouldn't be surprised if this carries over to the sister MKZ model.
Ford has been working on a new CD6 platform that reportedly can be configured for front-, rear-, and all-wheel drive. A source tells The Truth About Cars that this platform would have underpinned the next-generation Continental, MKZ, Ford Fusion, and Mustang under CEO Mark Fields. With a new CEO, those plans have changed as the only models that will use CD6 are the next-generation Explorer and sister Lincoln model.
Source: Ford Authority, The Truth About Cars

The grim reaper appears to circling around the Lincoln Continental if a new report is to believed.
Ford Authority has learned from sources familar with Lincoln's future product plans that the Continental will be end after this current-generation. No reason was given as to why the Continental could be shown the door. If we were to hazard a guess, it might be due to low sales number. Throughout its 18 months of being on sale, Lincoln has only moved 18,846 Continentals.
2016 (Sept to Dec): 5,261
2017: 12,012
2018 (so far): 1,573
The Continental is doing much better than the Lexus GS (1,009 models) and Acura RLX (285 models) so far this year. But it pales in comparison to the Cadillac XTS (3,163 vehicles, most going to fleets). The 2018 sales figures become more disheartening when you take into account that Lincoln spent close to a billion dollars to launch the Continental.
The Truth About Cars also notes that other models that use Continental's platform, CD4 don't have a bright future. As we reported previously in the rumorpile, the Ford Fusion will not be built in North America after 2020. Plans for a redesigned Fusion have also been canned. We wouldn't be surprised if this carries over to the sister MKZ model.
Ford has been working on a new CD6 platform that reportedly can be configured for front-, rear-, and all-wheel drive. A source tells The Truth About Cars that this platform would have underpinned the next-generation Continental, MKZ, Ford Fusion, and Mustang under CEO Mark Fields. With a new CEO, those plans have changed as the only models that will use CD6 are the next-generation Explorer and sister Lincoln model.
Source: Ford Authority, The Truth About Cars

If you happen to be an owner of a General Motors vehicle and are looking to earn some cash, then a new pilot program might be of interest. Bloomberg has learned from sources that GM is planning to launch a program where owners can rent out their vehicles when they aren't driving them - think AirBnb for cars. This will be launch through GM's Maven car-sharing service sometime this summer. A GM spokesman declined to comment.
This appears to be another part of GM's plan to transition from manufacturer to mobility provider. GM already has their car-sharing service Maven and invested $500 million into ride-hailing service Lyft.
This idea of allowing owners to rent out their vehicles isn't new. Companies like Turo and Getaround have been doing the same thing for a number of years. But Alexandre Marian, a director in the automotive and industrial practice at consultant AlixPartners LLP said GM could have one big advantage, having a huge network of vehicle owners that could be part of the service.
But there is a big risk for owners who decide to offer their vehicles up for rent, what happens if they get into an accident? Maven provides liability coverage for its renters. If you offer your vehicle through Turo have the choice of adding commercial coverage through their own insurance or one of the insurance companies that have partnered with the service. We're expecting GM to have some solution in place if they decide to go forward with this program.
Source: Bloomberg